Truth, Justice and the American Way

November 22, 2015

On November 26, Macy’s will hold its 89th Annual Thanksgiving Parade marking the beginning of the Christmas Season. Three-and-a-half million people will line the streets of New York and another fifty million will watch the parade on television. Giant helium balloons of America’s beloved cartoon characters, superheroes, and toys are the signature item of the parade. Since the parades inception in 1924, Macy’s has designed and created 136 giant balloons, only five represent female characters. While the underrepresentation of female character balloons is startling and sends a powerful message to young girls, the female characters selected by Macy’s also raise serious concerns.

The first female character balloon, Olive Oyl, Popeye’s girlfriend, was produced in 1982, 58 years after the parade’s inception. The sexual and sensual Betty Boop, Macy’s second female character balloon debuted in 1985. The shy, cute, pink Cassie from Dragon Tales produced in 2000 was the third female character balloon. Dora the Explora, from Nickelodeon television, produced in 2005, is the only female character balloon that portrays a talented young girl and a positive role model. The final female character balloon, Abby Cadabby, produced in 2007, is a three-year-old Muppet who lives on Sesame Street with limited magical powers. Four of the five female character balloons, a classic damsel in distress, a sex symbol, a shy dragon, and a baby muppet have spoken volumes to the hundreds of millions of girls who have watched these larger than life characters maneuver the streets of New York. They have disempowered, sexualized or infantilized our daughters rather than give them a sense of their own worth.

Cartoon characters with well-known partners make up a substantial proportion of the balloons in the parade. The male half of the pair have balloons in the parade while their female counterparts, with the exception of Olive Oyl, are excluded. Mickey and Minnie Mouse were introduced by Walt Disney in 1928 in the cartoon Steamboat Willie. In 1934, Macy’s teamed up with Disney and introduced the first of four Mickey Mouse balloons. Each Mickey Mouse balloon, has been used in multiple parades, yet there has never been a Minnie balloon. Disney created Donald Duck in 1934 and his girlfriend Daisy in 1940. Donald got a balloon in 1962, but Daisy never did. Two different Smurfs have flown in the parade multiple times, but there is no Smurfette balloon. Bart Simpson has his own balloon, but his sister Lisa does not. Fred Flintstone has been in the parade, but Wilma hasn’t. Two different versions of Kermit debuted in 1977 and 2002, but there has never been a Miss Piggy balloon. There have been seven versions of Snoopy in the Macy’s parade, the last one included Woodstock. Charlie Brown had his own balloon, but Lucy Van Pelt is missing. Instead of an eighth Snoopy balloon, why not add Lucy to the line up?

Superheroes are also a big theme in the parade. A total of three Superman balloons, two Spiderman balloons, and a Mighty Mouse balloon have each flown in multiple parades. Yet here has never been a female superhero in the parade. Supergirl, currently featured in her own television, would be a perfect addition to Macy’s balloon line up.

Once a balloon has exceeded its lifespan of approximately eight years, Macy’s or a balloon’s sponsor decides whether to redesign and reissue the character. In the history of the parade, thirteen balloon characters have been introduced twice. Twelve were male characters. Superman was issued three times and Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse were issued four times each. Snoopy holds the record as the most reissued balloon in the parade’s history. Hello Kitty is the only balloon aimed at girls issued more than once.

Over the nine decade history of the parade there is no real trend to adding more female character balloons. The 2015 parade will contain 17 balloons, four of which will be new: Angry Bird’s Red, Ronald McDonald (4th version), Ice Age's Scrat and His Acorn, and Sinclair Oil’s Mascot DINO. Even more astounding is of the 13 balloons used in previous years but slated for this year’s parade, only one, Hello Kitty, is specifically aimed at girls.

In 2014, Macy’s introduced the largest number of new balloons in its history: Paddington Bear, Pikachu, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, Skylanders Eruptoran and Thomas the Tank Engine. Out of the ten additional balloons added to the lineup, only one, the powerless yet adorable Hello Kitty, was a girl.

If you think parade balloons are trivial, think again. The sheer volume of viewers plus the large size of the balloons, imports special status to the characters they represent. The absence of female characters tells girls and boys alike, girls are not important. Macy’s not only needs to put more female character balloons in the parade, they need to add more current and empowering female balloons. The current male character balloons portray boys as strong and brave and the female character balloons suggest that to be successful girls need to be cute, helpless, sexual and girly. Feature length cartoons like Brave and Frozen feature strong female leads that both boys and girls admire. New balloons should feature female characters from current movies and products, not outdated visions of what it is to be a girl. The most famous parade in the world needs to meet the needs of more than half our children.

Complaints that Hillary Clinton is paid too much for her speaking engagements abound. But how much is too much? The highest sum ever paid for a speaking engagement was $1.5 million dollars, paid to Donald Trump by the Learning Annex in 2006 and again in 2007 making Hillary Clinton’s average $200,000 per speaking engagement seem like a paltry sum. In a free market economy, speakers charge market rate. If Secretary Clinton charged $500,000 a speech, she would have few if no engagements. If she charged $5,000 a speech, wealthy individuals would request her to speak at wedding anniversaries and birthday parties. How much is the most admired woman in the world worth? In a free market economy, whatever she can get.

Since leaving office 16 months ago, Secretary Clinton has earned 12 million in speaking engagements. Prorated that’s nine million dollars a year. How do her fees and salary compare to other famous Americans at the top of their game?

Everyone knows movie stars make staggering sums of money for their performances in blockbuster films. Sandra Bullock netted $70 million for her performance in Gravity, and Will Smith received $100 million for his performance in Men in Black 3. Hillary Clinton would have to continue speaking at the same pace for the next ten years to earn as much money as Will Smith made for his performance in a single movie. It would take an average American fifty lifetimes of work to earn a comparable sum. Top television stars also pull in high salaries. Sofia Vergara was paid 30 million dollars last season for her performance in 24 episodes of Modern Family, making her salary a whopping $1.25 million per episode. Mariska Hargitay, was paid 11 million dollars or $458,333 per episode of CSI: Special Victims Unit in 2013. Both stars dwarf Clinton’s average of $200,000 per speech.

Madonna, with a net worth estimated over one billion dollars, pulled in $125 million over the past year. Lady Gaga earned a paltry $80 million in 2013 due to a hip injury and at only 28, is worth a whopping two-hundred twenty million dollars. No one complains aboutthe high ticket prices and net worth of these and other top musical performers. The price per head for Clinton’s speeches is typically less than the ticket price for a concert or a Broadway play. At UNLV, where complaints about the cost of Clinton’s upcoming speech have surfaced, yet students fail to realize Secretary Clinton’s speech will increase the University’s prestige, increase the value of the students’ degrees, provide photos and copy for marketing materials, and provide them with an once in a lifetime experience.

Professional athletes like entertainers command high salaries. Last year, Drew Brees, the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, signed a $100 million contract extension with a $37 million signing bonus. Brees added to his $40 million salary with $11 million in product endorsements. He played 23 games for an average of $2,217,391 per 60 minute game. Last season, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant earned 27.9 million dollars plus 34 million dollars in endorsement income. The Lakers played 82 season games making Bryant ‘s earnings $756,098 per game including endorsement earnings. Athletes have intensive practice schedules that are unaccounted for in salary per game calculations. Secretary Clinton’s require intense preparation in a world where the issues affecting the country, the economy and the world are rapidly changing.

Until Secretary Clinton wins the presidency, she can engage in as many speaking engagements as she wants for whatever price she can command. Critics who claim the Clinton price tag and wealth inhibits Secretary Clinton’s ability to be a great president should review history. The four presidents on Mt. Rushmore along with Franklin Delano Roosevelt are considered by the majority of scholars the five greatest presidents in United States history. Except for Abraham Lincoln all of these presidents came from wealthy families. There are many characteristics that make a great president, but poverty isn’t one of them.

August 13, 2014

I understand the ramifications of suicide. Four years ago, someone I had known for fifty years, flew from Chicago to San Francisco and jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge. Margot was my BFF. We met in high school. She lived across the street from me, and helped me navigate a move to a new city. That was the beginning of a lifetime of shared experiences. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and was there at my daughter’s wedding. She was my family, my other sister. Both of us acknowledged the deep connection between us, the kind of connection forged when you are young enough to be vulnerable and only happens a few times in a lifetime.

I was at work when I got the call. “Lynette, Margot committed suicide. She jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge.” My thoughts raced. Not Margot. She was too narcissistic to ever commit suicide. “She survived the jump, was rescued by a nearby boat, and died in the hospital,” details that would haunt me. Margot abhorred pain. When I hung up the phone, a primitive sound emerged from my gut. A sound I had only heard on television when women in other cultures wail at the loss of their children. It was loud, it was piercing and it came for the deepest corners of my being. It just kept coming, a ribbon of pain that would not stop. For the next few weeks, I was numb. I went through the motions of my life, but whenever I was alone, I was in bed, curled up in a fetal position, sobbing.

After the initial shock and wave of pain subsided, I needed to understand. Did she leave a note? Where were her journals? Who did she speak to last?Did she share her plans with anyone? How long did she live? Was she conscious after the jump? Somehow I thought there would be comfort in knowing but when I learned the answers they didn’t help.

After I could glean everything I could from Margot’s friends and family, my attention turned to myself. Why didn’t I notice the phone calls that went on too long as a sign of her loneliness and depression? Why didn’t I call more often than once a week? Was I too preoccupied with my own life to “see” her? Why didn’t she trust me enough to tell me how she was feeling? Could I have stopped her? Why wasn’t I a better friend? Survivor guilt’s a bitch.

A few weeks after Margot’s death, I visited Chicago, her home town. I met with her friends. I went to the places she loved and places we shared. I ate Garrett popcorn and a Chicago hotdog. I visualized Margot wherever I went and chided myself for not telling her I was coming. I planned the trip while she was still alive. My visit was going to be a surprise. Maybe things would have been different if she had known I was coming or if I had taken the time to fly from DC to Chicago more often.

In 2012, John Bateson published the definitive work on jumpers, The Final Leap: Suicide on Golden Gate Bridge. Bateson outlined the experience of the 1500 people that jumped and argued for nets under the bridge. I devoured the book and contacted the author. I obtained a copy of both the police report and the coroner’s report. I even called the corner and spoke to him at length. He understood my torment. But in the end, I was still alone with my grief.

Margot’s family sent me two of her personal items as a keepsake, her passport which documents her travels all over the world and her wallet. Her passport photo showed a smiling Margot, ready for any adventure, the woman I knew. Hidden inside the wallet was a second passport photo, a photo different than the one in her passport, but taken the same day. In this photo she appeared depressed and sullen, so much so that my son picked up the photo and said, “Who’s this?” before taking a closer look. The photo was taken when she wasn’t ready; it was the woman behind the mask, someone she hid from the world.

Margot’s death is never far from me. I wish I could tell Robin Williams’ family that it gets easier, but I’d be lying. I never realized how often the Golden Gate Bridge is in movies or in photographs. Every time I see it, I quiver with grief. Margot kept a bowl of her favorite candy on her coffee table, red licorice. She’d tell me, “Lynette, did you know red licorice has no fat.” They sell red licorice everywhere and every time I see it I think of her. I eat it often in her honor.

Margot wasn’t my mother, my father, my husband, my lover, my son, or my daughter, but the impact of her death on me is undeniable. I would urge Robin Williams’ children do not hold themselves responsible for their father’s death. People who truly want to end their life can always find a way. There are parts of each of us we keep secret, they're just too painful to share. Zelda, Cody, and Zachary, never doubt your father’s love. You are a part of him and he is a part of you. He is in you and no one can take that away from you, not even him. He couldn’t wear the mask anymore. It was just too hard, just too hard.

March 02, 2010

Today, ninety years after women won the right to vote, the symbolic representation of women by our government in the U.S. Capitol Building is abysmal.From the frieze and paintings in the Capitol Rotunda that depict our nation’s history to the statues in National Statuary Hall (NSH), women are noticeably absent.An outsider with no foreknowledge of our country or our culture would think that the United States was ninety percent male.

The Capitol Rotunda consists of a frieze that depicts our nation’s history in nineteen scenes including: Landing of Columbus, Burial of DeSoto, William Penn and the Indians, Battle of Lexington, Declaration of Independence, and Peace at the End of the Civil War.From the titles of the scenes you know the images will be male dominated.Actually theycontain identifiable images of at least two dozen famous American men beginning with Christopher Columbus and ending with the Wright brothers, but in the entire surround there is only a single identifiable woman, Pocahontas, in the frieze, John Smith and Pocahontas.Below the frieze, eight paintings, each twelve feet by eighteen feet, adorn the Rotunda.Four of the paintings: Declaration of Independence, Landing of Columbus, Surrender of General Burgoyne, and Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, do not show an image of a single woman.The four other paintings contain a handful of women in the background and only one identifiable woman, Pocahontas on her knees before man and God in the painting The Baptism of Pocahontas.

National Statuary Hall, located between the Rotunda and the House of Representatives, was created in 1864 out of the old House of Representatives Chamber.It is a majestic place of honor for two Americans from each of the fifty states.In NSH there are presidents, senators, governors, religious leaders, soldiers, writers, inventors, artists, educators, and even an astronaut, but less than ten percent are women.Only nine statues of women currently grace NSH: Helen Keller (Alabama), Frances E. Willard (Illinois), Maria L. Sanford (Minnesota),Jeanette Rankin (Montana), Sakakawea (North Dakota) Sarah Winnemucca (Nevada), Florence Sabin (Colorado), Esther Hobart Morris (Wyoming), and Mother Joseph (Washington).

Why are women who comprise over half of the population so under-represented in our nation’s Capitol?The fact that the Capitol was designed and built before women had the right to vote or participate in the political process is a partial explanation for the dearth of women.But the statues in NSH can be changed so you would expect new installations to reflect gender parity.Three new statues have been approved by their respective states and will soon be installed in National Statuary Hall: President Gerald Ford (Michigan), Senator Barry Goldwater (Arizona) and Harry Truman (Missouri), all are men.Surely the fact that there has never been a female president or vice-president limits the number of female candidates, but NSH is far from the “Hall of the Presidents.”In fact, currently only four former presidents make up the National Statuary Hall Collection: George Washington, James Garfield, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan.

What’s especially disturbing is there actually are women in most states that are more noteworthy and garner more name recognition than the men standing in their stead. John James Ingalls proudly stands in NSH representing Kansas, but Amelia Earhart is absent.John Hanson and Charles Carroll represent Maryland, but Marylanders Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring and founder of the modern environmental movement, and Harriet Tubman, humanitarian and abolitionist, are conspicuously absent. New Mexico showcases a statue of Senator Dennis Chavez but could proudly display artist, Georgia O'Keefe. Florida journalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas and author of Rivers of Grass, whois rightfully credited with preserving the Florida Everglades has a statue at Fairchild Gardens but is absent from NSH.Instead John Gorrie who was actually born on the Island of Nevis represents Florida in NSH.

For the young girl touring the Capitol, the message from our government is clear, you are invisible, you don’t matter.For our nation to move forward the achievements of women need to be recognized and women need to be given full symbolic equality.As a psychologist I know that 80% of communication is non-verbal, and that the lack of visual images of women leaders has a significant negative impact on girls and women.You might tell your daughter, you can be anything, but the interior of our nation’s Capital tells a different story.The visual over-rides the verbal.She doesn’t hear, yes you can, but no you can’t. Put another way, would you want to take your son on a tour of the Capitol if our nation’s forefathers were actually foremothers and if National Statuary Hall contained ninety-one statues of women and only nine of men?

Most things children learn are not learned in school.Children learn both intellectual and emotional lessons from their parents, their environment, and the symbols and icons that surround them.It is a little known fact that self-esteem is a greater predictor of success than IQ.Unfortunately our country’s culture and icons do not foster the self-esteem of both genders equally.Helping girls feel good about themselves is not only our moral duty, but important to our success as a nation.Only when women are fully included in our nation’s history can they fully contribute to our nation’s future.

So before you take your daughter on a tour of the Capitol, think twice.There should be a sign outside that says, “Caution: If you have a daughter under 18, a tour of the Capitol may be dangerous to your daughter’s psychological health.The overwhelming predominance of male imagery, paintings, and statues and virtual non-existence of female images may diminish your daughter’s self-esteem.Conversely, if you have a son, a Capitol tour might create a false sense of entitlement. Please proceed with caution into these hallowed halls representing our nation.”

January 30, 2010

Thank you Chairman Wagoner, Vice Chairman Letson and members of The National Statuary Collection Study Committee.I appreciate the opportunity to come before you today to discuss my support for Catherine Beecher.

National Statuary Hall, created in 1864 out of the old House of Representatives Chamber, is a majestic place of honor for two Americans from each of the fifty states. In National Statuary Hall there are presidents, senators, governors, religious leaders, soldiers, writers, inventors, artists, educators, and even an astronaut, but few women.Ohio’s two statues, President James Garfield and Governor William Allen were both selected and placed in NSH in the 1880’s, decades before women had the right to vote or participate in the political process. With the search for a replacement for Governor Allen, Ohio has an opportunity to select a woman and increase the number of woman statues in NSH from nine to ten. If this committee elects to honor a woman, women would still be vastly under-represented, but it would be one small step toward gender parity.

In 1961, I was a freshman at Lutheran East High School in Cleveland Heights, John F. Kennedy was the President, and only five statues of women graced National Statuary Hall.Now, almost 50 years later there are only four additional statues of women are in National Statuary Hall.In addition, there never has been a single image of a woman on our paper currency and in 2009, only 25% of the people portrayed on stamps were women.Why are women who comprise over half of the population, so under-represented in our nation’s symbols and icons.

Inevitably almost every woman hits a professional glass ceiling, an internal and external limit on her achievement caused by both early programming and the subtle sexism that permeates our culture.For the young girl visiting National Statuary Hall, the teenage girl using money to buy a pair of jeans, or the adult woman putting a stamp on a letter, the message is clear, you are invisible, you don’t matter.For our nation to move forward the achievements of women need to be recognized and women need to be given full symbolic equality.As a psychologist I know that 80% of communication is non-verbal, and that the lack of visual images of women leaders has a significant negative impact on girls and women.Can you imagine being a young girl and walking into a room in our nation’s Capitol to honor great Americans only to find yourself surrounded by 16 foot statues of men.You might tell your daughter, you can be anything, but the statues tell a different story.The visual over-rides the verbal.She doesn’t hear, yes you can, but no you can’t.

I would like the men in the room to imagine living in my world.Imagine how you would feel if all the statues inside outside and inside this building were of a women, and all the paintings on the walls of this building were of women leaders, and when you opened your wallet to pay for your lunch only images of women were on the money, and every president, and vice president in our history was a women. Would you stand where you stand today if that were our nation’s legacy?Would you want to take your son on a tour of National Statuary Hall if it contained ninety-one statues of women and only nine of men?

Ohio has a chance to right a wrong and has many great women to choose from to put in National Statuary Hall:Lucy Webb Hayes, a beloved First Lady; Harriet Taylor Upton, suffragette and author; Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president; Annie Oakley, an archetypal western woman and philanthropist; and of course abolitionist and author, Harriet Beecher Stowe.

However, of all the great Ohio women available to choose from my personal choice is American educator and author, Catherine Beecher.Catherine Esther Beecher, the oldest of Lyman Beecher’s thirteen children was born in 1800. Initially educated at home because she had to care for her younger siblings, she was sent to a private school at age ten where she was taught the limited curriculum available to girls.She taught herself the subjects not offered in girl’s schools and became a teacher. By age 24, she opened a school for young women in Hartford, Connecticut known as the Hartford Female Seminary.Catherine moved to Cincinnati with her father and sister in 1832 and founded the Western Female Institute.In 1852, she established the American Woman's Educational Association to expand the number of teachers in schools on the western frontier.

Catherine Beecher has many noteworthy accomplishments.

1.Catherine Beecher founded the field of Home Economics.She thought running a household and raising children was a complex task and should be treated with respect. She believed girls should be educated equally to boys to prepare them for this task and so they could foster the education and moral development of their children.

2.Catherine Beecher worked on the famous McGuffey readers the largest selling textbooks in history and the first nationally-adopted textbooks for elementary students.

3.Catherine Beecher started some of the first colleges for women at Burlington, Iowa, Quincy, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

4.Catherine Beecher believed in and promoted physical education for girls.

5.Finally, Catherine Beecher published several books including The American Woman’s Home, The Moral Instructor for Schools and Families and A Treatise on Domestic Economy for the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School. You can still buy these books on Amazon today.

I respect Catherine Beecher because I am an educator.I taught high school, served as a principal of both an elementary and middle school, served on the faculties of numerous universities, and I had the honor of spending one year in Korea and one year in Japan educating our servicemen and women.I believe there is nothing more important than education and my entire life reflects that truth.But most things children learn are not learned in school. Children learn both intellectual and emotional lessons from their parents, their environment, and the symbols and icons that surround them. It is a little known fact that self-esteem is a greater predictor of success than IQ.Unfortunately our country’s culture and ions does not foster the self-esteem of both genders equally.Helping girls feel good about themselves is not only our moral duty, but important to our success as a nation.Only when women are fully included in our nation’s history can they fully contribute to our nation’s future.

The person selected to represent Ohio as a statue in National Statuary Hall, belongs to the citizens of Ohio, but the selection will be placed in the United States Capitol and will be viewed by over a half-million people a year. I urge the committee to choose a woman to represent Ohio.My choice for that woman is Catherine Beecher for her long-lasting contributions both to the education of the young women of Ohio and this nation.I understand Catherine Beecher was not born in Ohio, but 56 of the persons currently honored in NSH were not born in the states they represent.

Thank you for allowing for me to share my support for Catherine Beecher with you today. I will answer any questions that committee may have.

January 22, 2010

Maybe we should contact Jim at 614-221-0496 and ask him to promote putting a women in National Statuary Hall.

Article published January 22, 20103 with area ties are promoted for Statuary HallOhio seeking new historic faceBy JIM PROVANCEBLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF

COLUMBUS - In a kind of semifinals as they search for a new representative in the National Statuary Hall, lawmakers yesterday heard final pitches for six historic faces of Ohio.

One by one, supporters argued that their candidates stood out from the others, better representing what Ohio was in their time and what America would become. Three of the six presentations yesterday focused on candidates with ties to northwest Ohio.

"It's going to be a very, very hard selection," said Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo), a study committee member.

A Washington Court House High School student made her pitch that Toledo Congressman James M. Ashley, who wrote and worked with President Lincoln to win passage of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, deserves to stand in the statuary.

"Any elementary student could tell you about the accomplishments of Thomas Edison, and the sports world has elevated Jessie Owens to a glorified status, and aircrafts will forever be associated with the Wright Brothers, but James Ashley is relatively unknown," said Ashley Kimmet.

But it is those accomplishments of Milan-born Edison that should earn him a place in the statuary, his great-great grandnephew, Robert L. Wheeler, said.

"If ever the hard-hit Buckeye State needed to embrace an inspirational character who overcame adversity and deafness in youth to become a brilliant innovator with irrepressible entrepreneurial spirit, it is now," said Mr. Wheeler, president of the Edison Birthplace Association, Inc.

The committee, chaired by Sen. Mark Wagoner (R., Ottawa Hills), is charged with finding a replacement in the statuary for William Allen, a Democratic governor and congressman from Chillicothe. While popular in the late 1800s, Allen's opposition to Lincoln and his tolerance for slavery have not worn well over time.

There are no plans to replace Ohio's other representative in the statuary, assassinated Republican President James Garfield.

Mr. Wagoner noted that, ironically, Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Allen in a tight race for governor in 1875. Now the 19th president of the United States, who spent his final years in Fremont, is being touted to replace Allen in the statuary.

"I would point out that while seven presidents were born in Ohio, only one drew his last breath in Ohio, and that was Rutherford B. Hayes. He was a Buckeye to the end," said Thomas J. Culbertson, executive director of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center.

The committee also heard pitches for:

•Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president and popular Civil War general born and raised in southern Ohio.

•President Warren Harding, the Marion newspaper publisher who served as post-World War I president but died in office.

•Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose experiences during her early years in Cincinnati led her to write Uncle Tom's Cabin, the novel that helped to shape Americans' opinions on slavery.

The committee plans to meet again next week to hear more pitches. Among other names promoted are Dummy Hoy, the Cincinnati Reds player who would become the most famous deaf professional baseball player; Presidents William McKinley and William Howard Taft; Tecumseh, the Shawnee leader who fought a young United States during the War of 1812, and suffragette Harriet Taylor Upton.

January 19, 2010

HE WAS no singing sensation compared to Michael Jackson although he did produce a recording that made history. It didn't come close to Thriller in theatrics but when Thomas Alva Edison recited "Mary had a little lamb" into his phonograph, creating the first recorded sound the world had ever heard, it was a hit.

And 78 years after the prolific inventor died, Edison, like Jackson, is being posthumously honored this year by the recording industry with a Grammy.

Imagine him giving an acceptance speech among the glitterati of Hollywood. It could be a tad different from one the late pop star might give with "Off the Wall" references to "Bad" singles and impromptu dance moves to enliven delivery. Picture instead a white-haired award recipient in staid period attire ambling up to the microphone - which he also invented - and musing about the awesome but unforeseen consequences of his favorite creation.

The tinfoil tabletop phonograph may not have looked like much back in the day but it performed like nothing ever had before to record and reproduce his words. And, in contrast to other Edison inventions perfected through painstaking trial and error, his 1877 phonograph worked the first time.

Of the nearly 1,100 U.S. patents Edison held - including the one for the first commercially viable incandescent light bulb - the recording device he created at Menlo Park was the most original. And it was the genesis for all that follows today in an age where recorded sound is so ubiquitous.

The Ohio native, born in the wee village of Milan, about an hour east of Toledo, would be as giddy as an eclectic century-old inventor could be about the idea of recorded music being shared instantaneously around the globe through file transfers, MP3s, i-Tunes, and downloads.

Yet after the shock subsided, he'd undoubtedly take deep satisfaction in knowing that every recorded sound, from differentiating cell phone rings to infinite iPod selections, was made possible by an inventor's hunch more than a hundred years ago. After all, it was he who created the technology for music artistry to flourish.

That's why, unlike the black vinyls of my youth or the CDs of my adulthood, Edison will never be passe. The still-evolving recording industry continues to draw inspiration from his innovations as do others in broader entertainment and communication circles.

Among the luminaries being honored with Grammys this year, he stands out not for his moonwalk or music compositions or best-selling albums, but for successfully recording a childhood rhyme on a patented phonograph that changed everything. The Grammy Recording Academy honors Edison for far more than commercial success, it honors him for making the recording business possible.

From recorded sound to motion pictures and medical technology, numerous Edison inventions played integral roles in transforming the rudimentary to revolutionary. You turn on a light, or electric stove, go for an X-ray, pop an alkaline battery into a toy, or listen to a world famous orchestra at home because an extraordinary visionary was once driven by the possibilities.

Beyond this Grammy, Edison should ultimately be recognized by his home state with enshrinement in the U.S. Capitol's hallowed Statuary Hall. What greater tribute can Ohio give its famous son, whose inventive contributions to the world are unsurpassed?

In a few months, a state legislative committee, headed by Republican Sen. Mark Wagoner of Toledo, will identify a deserving historical figure from Ohio to replace the statue of a 19th century pro-slavery politician. Why not a 19th-century superstar who's been called The Man Who Invented the 20th Century - not to mention a Grammy winner with enduring relevance in the 21st century?

If ever the hard-hit Buckeye State needed to embrace an inspirational character who overcame adversity and deafness in youth to become a brilliant innovator with irrepressible entrepreneurial spirit, it is now. The Edison example of persevering until failure gives way to success is a lesson every generation struggling through tough times can take to heart.

"I have seen many depressions in business," said the venerable inventor. "Always America has emerged from these stronger and more prosperous. Be brave. Have faith. Go forward."

Not a bad speech for the 2009 Grammy honoree whose recording genius and timeless legacy of creating what was needed continues to influence dreamers pursuing huge hits.

WASHINGTON — Big changes are afoot at the National Statuary Hall collection in the U.S. Capitol, as many states are updating their monuments to reflect the fact that the past need not be set in stone.

Where states once exclusively memorialized their white political leaders of the day, they're just as likely now to turn to Native Americans or women. And though they're still carved from marble or cast in bronze, the designs have become more animated, colorful and subjective.

"The early statues in the collection are kind of alike. You would find that true throughout Washington, D.C., through that era," says Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the Architect of the Capitol. "We are seeing states pick more modern figures, and the artists are depicting them in a more modern way."

Derrick Woodham, a sculptor and professor emeritus at the University of Cincinnati, says the modern statues go beyond simple physical renderings. They are meant to invoke some sense of personality of the subject as well as the state.

"The context of the sculpture has expanded dramatically," Woodham says.

Ohio is considering replacing one of the two statues the state submitted as part of the National Statuary Hall collection.

Three states — Alabama, California and Kansas — have done so since the law was changed in 2000 to allow for replacements.

Cincinnati's Charles Niehaus, who created Ohio's two statues — James Garfield and William Allen — contributed eight statues to the collection from 1886 to 1929. In 2003, Kansas replaced his statue of George Washington Glick with one of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Michigan is looking now to replace his statue of Zachariah Chandler with one of Gerald Ford, Malecki says.

Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio, says he likes the traditional neo-classic sculptures but recognizes the quality of some of the more modern works.

"Father Damien captures Hawaii," Driehaus said.

The boxy bronze statute of the legendary Hawaiian missionary-turned-saint, designed by Paris-born sculptor Maria Sol Escobar, arrived in 1969 and clearly displays the pop art influence of that era.

Republican Rep. Justin Morrill of Vermont, who also served in the Senate, suggested the idea of a Statuary Hall in the Capitol as a place where each state could send a bronze or marble statue of a notable citizen as a lasting commemoration.

A law was passed in 1864 to permit each state to submit two statues to the Capitol collection of a deceased citizen of distinguished military or civic service or of historic renown.

Many of the modern entries are housed in the newly opened Capitol Visitors Center, while others occupy spaces in the U.S. Capitol.

Among the modern entries are:

Hawaii's Father Damien. The bronze statute by sculptor Maria Sol Escobar arrived in 1969 and stands in the Hall of Columns on the first floor of the U.S. Capitol. Damien, who was recently elevated to sainthood by Pope Benedict XVI, devoted his life to the leper colony on Molokai.

Kansas native and former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose statue stands in the Capitol Rotunda. The bronze monument was designed by sculptor Jim Brothers and arrived in 2003.

Utah inventor Philo T. Farnsworth, whose bronze statue by James Avati arrived in 1990 and shows the lanky Mormon holding an image dissector that he invented, which led to the modern television.

The bronze statute of Hawaii King Kamehameha by Thomas Gould, which depicts the Hawaiian leader in his regal garb. It also arrived in 1969.

Alabama replaced an earlier statute this year with one of Helen Keller. The statue by artist Edward Hlavka depicts a young Keller, deaf and blind, touching water as it spouts from a hand pump.

New Mexico delivered a marble statue of San Juan Pueblo religious leader Po'pay to the Capitol in 2005. It was carved by Cliff Fragua.

A marble statue of North Dakota's Sakakawea, who guided the Lewis and Clark expedition, was carved by Leonard Crunelle. It arrived in 2003.

Colorado astronaut John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr. is depicted dressed in the spacesuit he wore as member of the aborted Apollo 13 moon mission. The statue by George and Mark Lundeen arrived in 1997.

Wyoming sent a statue of Shoshone warrior Washakie to the Capitol in 2000. The bronze statue was designed by Dave McGary and shows the renowned 19th-century leader in full headdress, holding a spear and wearing beaded moccasins.

Nevada's statue of Sarah Winnemucca, an interpreter and negotiator of the Paiute tribe, was designed by Dave McGary, who at age 26 was the youngest artist included in the collection of figurative sculptures. The bronze work, which arrived in 2005, depicts Winnemucca in a fringed dress that seems to swirl, as if windswept.

Does anyone realize the country is 51% women? Or am I missing something?

January 18, 2010, 9:13AM

If historical worth but little- chronicled greatness are the chief criteria for picking an emblematic figure to represent Ohio in National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., the choice is clear.

Ohio cannot go wrong by honoring Col. Charles Young, the first black U.S. Army officer to reach colonel's rank. His brilliant military and diplomatic career spanned the eras of slavery to empire.

Plain Dealer photographU.S. Army Col. Charles D. YoungHe was born in 1864 in Mays Lick, Ky., to slaves who later attained their freedom and moved across the river to Ripley, Ohio. Only the third African-American to graduate from West Point, Young was the first to enjoy a long professional military career despite the onset of the Jim Crow era. In part through his mentorship of Benjamin O. Davis Sr., he set the bar for black military leadership in this nation and served as one of America's first military-diplomatic intelligence officers in Haiti, the Philippines and Liberia.

Yet his story did not have a happy ending, as a powerful Southern senator made sure Young would be denied promotion to general, the field commission that would have been his on the battlefields of World War I.

As I wrote 51/2 years ago, "his story illuminates the best and worst of this time, when men such as himself . . . were denied their rightful places in an America beginning to flex its muscles in the world.

"Young's career was glittering but unfulfilled. With a general's star in grasp, bigotry ended his advancement as surely as a bullet would have.

"The nation that deemed Young too sick to serve in World War I sent him on a military intelligence assignment to Liberia as soon as the war was over. It was a mission his closest friends knew he wouldn't survive. Young died in Nigeria in 1922, leaving his wife and two kids to scrape by in southern Ohio by selling much of their property. The justifiable outcry from black America meant Young was buried at Arlington National Cemetery the following year.

"But soon his exceptional career and contributions were forgotten."

Ohioans should show the nation that Col. Charles Young is no longer forgotten bymaking him an emblem for the state in National Statuary Hall.

That would be an especially powerful statement, given the fact that the statue being replaced has since 1887 -- while Young was still a West Point cadet -- shamefully honored a former Ohio governor who opposed Lincoln and the war of emancipation.

In 2000, Congress decided that states could replace outdated statues in Statuary Hall, and in 2006, the Ohio legislature voted to give Allen the boot and to set up a study committee to recommend his replacement. (Ohio's other statue, since 1886, is that of former U.S. President James A. Garfield; it is not being replaced.)

The six-member National Statuary Collection Study Committee is holding hearings this week and next week in Columbus and planning one more "site visit" to learn about a proposed candidate (William McCulloch, a Republican congressman from southwest Ohio who championed civil rights legislation).

It will announce in February how average Ohioans may register their votes through a formal process to be moderated by the Ohio Historical Society. The committee's intent is to winnow the names down to five, and then recommend one to the Ohio legislature by summer.

Candidates must be deceased and have been a citizen of the state at some point in their lives. As one legislative staffer put it, "We love Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, but we'd rather have them alive" than dead and thus eligible to have their bronze or marble representation sent to Washington.

The committee has gone on eight previous field trips to investigate leading candidates:

Thomas A. Edison, in Milan

Tecumseh, in Chillicothe

The Wright brothers, in Dayton

William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy, in Cincinnati

James M. Ashley, in Washington Court House

Jesse Owens, at Ohio State University

Ulysses S. Grant, in Georgetown

Rutherford B. Hayes, in Fremont

A field trip to consider McCulloch will make it a ninefecta of all-male names in this insider race, as my colleague Connie Schultz noted in her Dec. 20 column nominating the pathbreaking, marvelous Zelma George for the honor.

Other readers weigh in elsewhere on this page.

Kristin Strobel, an aide to Ohio Sen. Mark Wagoner, the Northwest Ohio lawmaker chairing the statuary study commission, says its 9 a.m. hearings in Columbus the next two Thursdays -- Jan. 21 and Jan. 28 -- are open to anyone who wishes to testify in support of a nominee. Testimony will be limited to one five-minute presentation per nominee; in order to avoid overlap, the committee asks that written testimony be submitted by the Monday prior to each hearing.